Men’s Studies - Cramming?

Looking at life on the Southcoast, MA – MAN.  MANLY. MALE.  MASCULINE.  WARRIOR.  HUNTER. MAN CAVE. CAVEMAN or, from the old nursery rhyme: Tinker, tailor; Soldier, sailor; Rich man, poor man; Beggar-man, thief; Tinker, Tailor; Soldier, Sailor; Gentleman, Apothecary; Plough-boy, Thief; A laird, a lord; A richman, a thief; A tailor, a drummer; A stealer o' beef.   

Thief?  Sure shows up a lot.  I think the thief has been robbed!  I know.  I know.  Never openly discuss religion and politics or, gender or feminism either. Yeah, sure, it’s a man’s world.  Maybe once upon a time but – alas, no more!  You see, the privilege was squandered.  Now the price is being paid.  Man and manhood need to be redefined.  I know I’ve more than likely already raised an eyebrow or two so why not?   

We need to create and offer Men’s Studies courses at UMass Dartmouth.  No, I’m not saying this in any tongue and cheek way.  In fact, perhaps these Men’s Studies courses should be offered under the auspices of Sustainability Studies.  I’m not going to get into details.  I’m just putting an idea out there.  Here’s a song by Greg Keeler to get you into the concept.  It’s called Manly Men:

 

We're men among men and manly men.
Yes, manly men are we.
We're men among manly men among manly,
Manly men are we.

We'll sail up north and cross the ice
And cross the barren snow fields.
You've gotta be tough, and you've gotta be a man
To club the baby harp seal,
To club the baby harp seal.

Maybe that was then.  Maybe this is now.  Men belong to an endangered gender.  Men as fathers.  Men as husbands or significant others.  Men as providers, protectors and procreators are not only endangered, they are also displaced.  Looking at all this from a marketing point of view, I see the role of fathers shredded and demeaned on children’s television shows primarily and also on prime time television.  In children’s shows, mom and dad characters are devalued but of the two, Dad is the most inept.  Was the last of the TV fathers that knew best was Bill Cosby’s Dr. Huxtable?  As for the prime time male, well, they range from the unworthy and unscrupulous to the downright stupid. 

Demographically, where do men fit-in in this American society of ours?  As providers, men can’t make enough to provide for their families without the support of their wives.  The wife’s paycheck represents either healthcare insurance  or money for those extras we’re convinced we all need.  Many women don’t want to work.  They’re conflicted.  They want to be moms.  Yes, some women do want careers just like guys have or used to have.  Yes, there are conflicted guys out there too.  The difference is, when guys were the breadwinners; they had the little-woman at home keeping the domestic fires burning.   When women are in a solo or an equal bread winning role; they usually don’t have the little-man maintaining the domestic status quo.  Enter the professional child care providers.   

Wow – I’m really getting off-base.  I’ll return to the breadwinner theme at another time.  Getting back to the Man, as is were, as providers, we neither hunt nor grow our primary food sources these days.  We’ve traded our hunting and farming duties for a diverse number of roles within the modern workplace.  As protectors, we no longer have to battle with indigenous people and animals for territory to keep kit, kin and stake safe.  As procreators, well, perhaps not much has appeared to change in that department and in some cultures and ethnic groups; it’s the proof of manhood.

World War I was perhaps the beginning of the end of the modern male.  Half of that generation was either killed in battle or wandered about in intellectual shell shock.  After the carnage of World War II, the American male was, to use a British term, deemed redundant.  Enter the barbeque grill.  It was, at one point, a sanctuary for men.  The only visible proof that the old man had some value.  After all, he was outside making believe he was useful.  At least he wasn’t dirtying up or burning down the house.  Men drifted in the muck and mire of their jobs through the Fifties and the Sixties.  Then came the upsurge in feminism, the advent of political correctness and Christine Lavin’s New Age Sensitive Guys. 

Men have feelings too.  The movie City Slickers investigated the hopes and dreams of ordinary guys.  But, is being a part of the woodwork, as well as, ordinary and average something that must be accepted?   Joe Walsh crooned in his Ordinary Average Guy tune:

I'm just an ordinary average guy

My friends are all boring

And so am I

We're just ordinary average guys

We all live ordinary average lives

With average kids

And average wives

We all go bowling at the bowling lanes

Drink a few beers

Bowl a few frames

We're just ordinary average guys

Ordinary average guys

The result of all this is the American Male.  But the workplace is still male dominated!  Look just because most men are bosses doesn’t mean all bosses are men.  If manhood is such a great deal in the Twenty-First Century then why the uptick in Man Caves? Maybe we could find out if we had a Men’s Studies course!  What would the research into the role of men in today’s society what it would reveal their functions and responsibilities as providers, protectors and (procreators) parents.  It’s just a stupid man idea.  Unless, of course, you think it may have some merit?

Chime in please and let me know if you think it's a stupid idea or if it's something that should be seriously considered.  Maybe the name Men's Studies bugs you.  If so, how about Male Studies?  Checkout this article in Inside Higher Ed.  Author Jennifer Epstein profiles the newest academic discipline to emerge in the field of gender studies.